Wikipedia

Hövding

Hövding ("Chieftain" in Swedish) is an airbag bicycle helmet,[1] launched in November 2011.

Hövding
Company typeAktiebolag
Founded2005; 19 years ago (2005)
Founders
  • Anna Haupt
  • Terese Alstin
Defunct21 December 2023 (2023-12-21)
Headquarters
Malmö Edit this on Wikidata
,
Sweden Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
20+
Websitewww.hovding.com Edit this at Wikidata

Hövding was invented by Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin in Malmö, Sweden in 2005 as a master thesis for the founders' Master of Industrial Design at the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University in Sweden.[2] Their studies included the comparison of accelerometer data from bicycle crashes against 'typical' cycling.[3] The Hövding contains accelerometers that detect unusual movements which then deploys the airbag if the movement patterns match the profile of a crash.[4] Each Hövding airbag also contains a "Black Box" that records the accelerometer data 10 seconds before a deployment.[5] The Hövding collar is constructed of a waterproof material, and has interchangeable fabric "shells" that allow colour customisation.[4]

The two founders Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin left the company in 2015.[6][7]

Hövding is CE certified.[6]

In March 2015, Hövding 2.0 was released. These changes include improvements to the weight, comfort and change in location of the USB port.

Hövding 3.0 was introduced in September 2019, with new features such as a BOA[8] dial-based adjustment for universal fit, and Bluetooth connectivity to smart phones for firmware updates and automatically sending crash notifications to emergency contacts after a deployment.[9]

In November 2023, the Swedish Consumer Agency temporarily banned the manufacturer from selling Hövding 3.0 in Sweden on safety grounds, following an Uppdrag granskning investigation into the company's decision not to recall helmets with a known manufacturing defect that could cause them not to activate when their owners were involved in an accident.[10] On December 15, the consumer agency announced that Hövding 3.0 was to be recalled and permanently banned from being sold inside Sweden due to the safety concerns,[11] and though the recall and sales stop was overturned on appeal on December 22,[12][13] Hövding had already begun bankruptcy proceedings the day before.[14][15]

Safety tests

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Folksam

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In 2012, the Swedish insurance company Folksam tested 13 cycle helmets on the market. They carried out an impact test on the same principles as for CE marking but with a higher impact speed, 25 km/h instead of 20 km/h.[16]

All the traditional helmets achieved G-force ranging from 196 to 294 g. The lower the value, the better the helmet’s ability to protect the cyclist’s head in an accident. Hövding achieved 65 g, providing at least three times better shock absorption than the other helmets.

Que Choisir

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A test by French Que Choisir concluded that Hövding did not meet international safety requirements, according to the magazine of the Swedish Consumers' Association.[17] The critique against Hövding was that the helmet did not fully protect against impact with hard, narrow objects, such as curbstones or metal posts. Hövding refuted the critique, claiming that the tests was irrelevant as the helmet is so different in design that normal standards cannot be used; instead they referred to the tests performed during the CE certification, which show Hövding to be far safer than the average bike helmet. Que Choisir, in turn, stated that the laboratory they used for the tests is highly reputable and that the tests are still relevant regardless of design. Another critique Hövding received from Que Choisir was the inflation time. Que Choisir stated the inflation time as being 382 ms which, compared with airbags for motorcycles that have a limit of maximum 200 ms, is almost twice as long.[17] There is, however a difference in crash velocities between motorcycles and bicycles and tests showed that it deployed as it should in a test crash by a stunt person.[16] The test by Que Choisir was performed on Hövding 1.0, whether the issues have been addressed for the release of Hövding 2.0 is unknown as no new tests has been performed.

Stanford University

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A team of bioengineers performed a series of drop tests on the Hovding and concluded that there is an eight-fold reduction in the risk of concussion compared to traditional helmets.[18] The thickness and stiffness of the Hovding was described as "near perfect" in protecting against concussion and head injury. They did, however, find that the air pressure inside the helmet was critical for optimum performance. Partial inflation could cause the helmet to bottom out, where it would give less protection than an expanded polystyrene helmet.

Certimoov

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In 2021, French helmet testing organization Certimoov ranked the Hövding highest among the 156 bicycle helmets it had tested to date.[19] They gave the Hövding an overall safety rating of 4.5 out of 5, the only helmet to score higher than 4.

Awards

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Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin won the Index:Award 2011,[20] and D&AD Award in 2012.[21]

Criticism is mainly focused on the price of the Hövding,[22] and questions about its functionality during certain types of crashes.[17]

Bankruptcy

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In December 2023, Hövding applied for bankruptcy proceedings.[14][15] Bankruptcy comes after "Hövding 3" was banned in Sweden by the Konsumentverket, Swedish consumer protection agency.[23][24][25]

References

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  1. ^ Soal, Judith (2015-06-15). "Inflatable bicycle helmet sent me head over heels". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  2. ^ "Who We Are". Hövding Sverige AB. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Invisible helmet, airbag for cyclists designed in Malmö". Bikestorming.org. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b "How Hövding Works". Hövding Sverige AB. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  5. ^ "After an Accident". Hövding Sverige AB. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  6. ^ a b Venessa Wong (April 26, 2012). "An "Invisible" Bike Helmet From Sweden". Business Week. Archived from the original on April 28, 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  7. ^ Sarah Nylund (April 23, 2012). "Hövding återkallar cykelhjälmar". Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  8. ^ "BOA® Fit System | Dialed In". www.boafit.com. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  9. ^ "Hövding | Press release - Hövding 3 launched". Hövding. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  10. ^ "Konsumentverket har beslutat om tillfälligt försäljningsstopp av cykelhjälmen Hövding". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  11. ^ "Hövding 3 återkallas. Vad innebär det för mig? - Frågor och svar | Konsumentverket". Hallå konsument (in Swedish). 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  12. ^ "Konsumentexperten om Hövding-hjälmarna: "Återförsäljaren ansvarig gentemot dig"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  13. ^ "Why Did Hövding Implode? The Tragic End of the Invisible Helmet". Discerning Cyclist. 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  14. ^ a b Agger, Kalinka Aaman (2023-12-21). "Hövding indgiver konkursbegæring". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  15. ^ a b Nyheter, SVT (2023-12-21). "Malmöföretaget Hövding ansöker om konkurs". SVT (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  16. ^ a b "Test av cykelhjälmar – Bäst i test 2017 - Folksam". Folksam (in Swedish). Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  17. ^ a b c "Råd&Rön - Uppblåsbara cykelhjälmen klarar inte säkerhetsstandarden". www.radron.se. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  18. ^ Kurt, Mehmet; Laksari, Kaveh; Kuo, Calvin; Grant, Gerald A.; Camarillo, David B. (2016-09-27). "Modeling and Optimization of Airbag Helmets for Preventing Head Injuries in Bicycling". Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 45 (4): 1148–1160. doi:10.1007/s10439-016-1732-1. ISSN 0090-6964. PMID 27679447. S2CID 254196067.
  19. ^ "The tests | Certimoov". www.certimoov.com. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  20. ^ Alice Rawsthorn (September 4, 2011). "This Contest Takes the Prize". New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  21. ^ "WWinners - Hšvding". D&AD. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  22. ^ Laker, Laura (22 May 2012). "Will the airbag bike helmet be the way forward?". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  23. ^ Radio, Sveriges (2023-12-15). "Konsumentverket stoppar cykelhjälmen Hövding 3 permanent". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  24. ^ "Konsumentverket stoppar cykelhjälmen Hövding 3". DN.se (in Swedish). 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  25. ^ Lönnroth, Valdemar; Arvidsson, Joel (2023-12-15). "Hövdings nya hjälm stoppas helt – bolaget rasar". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
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